Minutes of Committee Meeting held Friday 10 November 2006

at 5.00pm at 20 Main Street, Hahndorf

PRESENT:

Lyndell Davidge, Tony Finnis, Bryon Finch, Anni Luur Fox, Eric Aliffe (Hahndorf Community Asoc).

APOLOGIES:

Annette Oien (overseas), Reg Butler.

BUSINESS

1. PERAMANGK ROCK ART PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION.    Anni reported on progress.  She had been in contact with Robin Coles who had informed her of the death of Richard Hunter on 7 October and that his daughter Isobel is taking over his role as custodian of Peramangk culture.  She has been collecting the awards that have resulted from his handiwork over many years.  She is also training her sister to conduct tours if Isobel is unable to do them.  Robin has been printing his photographs and will deliver them for mounting next week.  Anni had sent Isobel a sympathy card from the Branch.

2. CD of Peramangk Tour Brochure.   Permission to post on our Website.  Anni reported that Robin had earlier today delivered the Peramangk tour brochure CD and printout for us to use on the HahnWiki website.  He said he had the necessary permission to do that from Richard and Isobel who has taken over his role.  His book is not yet ready for sale.  The publisher asked him to expand the text which covers Known History, Culture and the Art of the Mount Lofty Ranges, to include Myths and Legends, and the use of Fungi and Indigenous Plants for Food and Medicine.  There will be over 160 colour plates in the book currently in the process of editing.

3. Approvals.    Lyndell told us that Robin had upset people at the SA Museum and that we should add a disclaimer on anything we produce ie “All care has been taken to ensure that permission has been granted to exhibit these images.”  We discussed approvals at length.  Anni said she had requested that Robin obtain the required approvals many months ago and he had agreed and said that Richard Hunter is acknowledged by the Aboriginal Heritage Unit.  Tony pointed out that Robin had the approvals at our meeting with National Trust CEO Alan Graham and Melinda Rankin at the Academy on Sunday 16 July when he showed us his photographs.  Anni said her notes of the meeting show that Alan had questioned Robin about approvals and that they were in order.  Robin had told us that the SA Museum requires Richard’s permission to exhibit Peramangk artefacts.  Only nine people can claim to be direct descendents which include Richard and his family and cousins.  Robin had handed Alan the CD of the powerpoint presentation for use in obtaining a grant to mount the exhibition.

4. Hahndorf Community Hall Committee had donated $400 towards cost of hiring the Academy for the Peramangk exhibition.  Anni agreed to send out thanks to Colin Dickson, President of the Hall Committee.

5. Estimated costs.   Anni said that printing and mounting costs were estimated at $1200 and that she is prepared to personally cover that cost at this point to ensure that the exhibition does not become bogged down in money issues at this late stage.  Since she still has a major exhibition to complete curating by 14 December involving funds from three government departments she is very happy to just “pay and display” to get the Peramangk show on the road.  She made the point that theoretically she should have been trying to rally the Branch to fundraise when Alan Graham’s attempt to extract grant funds from ETSA failed, but her own work pressures in running workshops and setting up performances and exhibitions for Country Arts SA and the Festival of Quiet Voices were too great at that time to allow such deflection of attention.

6. INVITATIONS.   Lyndell said that the Academy’s invitations cost about $286 for 500.  Anni moved that the Branch cover this cost and the cost of refreshments at the opening.  Seconded by Lyndell.  Carried.    Anni agreed to do the wording and formatting of the invitations which would be emailed to the Academy, Robin and members for checking.  Tony was given Robin’s CD for posting on our website and agreed to return it on Sunday for Anni to use for invitations and publicity.

7. REFRESHMENTS.   Lyndell agreed to be in charge of organising this aspect but would prefer to serve soft drinks and tea and coffee rather than wine.  She would like to cook fish in bark and have bush foods which her son Peter could source.  Anni said that there are records of Aboriginal people sweetening water with Banksia cones and Yacca flowers which are currently to be seen in our district.

8. WRITTEN AGREEMENT WITH ROBIN COLES RE EXHIBITION OF HIS PHOTOGRAPHS.   This was discussed.  If the Branch puts up money to print and mount the exhibition who owns these products?  Anni said that her notes from the meeting of 16 July quote Robin as saying he will not benefit financially from exhibiting the photographs.

(Anni’s personal view which was not discussed on Friday, is that the images belong to the Peramangk and our Branch is helping to publicise the existence of this group of Aboriginal people and their culture by helping to fund setting up this exhibition, as an altruistic gesture.  The benefit to the Branch is that, once again, we have done something exraordinary, a world first this time, to celebrate our 30th anniversary AND publish some images on the net.  The use of these images for production of cards etc to cover costs is something she does not feel comfortable about suggesting to Robin and Isobel at this point. Robin has said we could have the brochure available at the exhibition.)

1. HAHNDORF COMMUNITY ASSOC.   Eric brought up the $1900 in the association’s bank still earmarked for the Pioneer Women’s Trail.  Lyndell explained that our Branch had made a successful grant application in the name of this association so that a wider cross section of the community would be represented.   It is earmarked for artworks along the Trail, perhaps as a marker for the starting point at the Academy, when we can get a footbridge over the Onkaparinga River.

2. Bryon Finch suggested asking Robin to run a tour of Rock Art sites to raise funds to cover costs of mounting the exhibition.

3. HAHNWIKI.   Anni agreed to supply Tony with some of her historic photographs to post on our website to provide an alternative view of Hahndorf.  Tony said that Mt Barker Council had covered the cost of a new computer for the server which will take him three weeks to organise after which he would like to set up photographic galleries of small images that are .5 of a postcard in size.  They would be pixilated if blown up.  He was keen to provide as much information as possible about Hahndorf history for free access but understood copyright issues.

4. HISTORY/INTERPRETIVE CENTRE.   This issue was discussed at length and the question of what will happen to artefacts and data belonging to Reg Butler and Anni in the future.  A number of instances of relatives burning documents during “clean-ups” of deceased estates were aired.  Tony expressed alarm about Reg assuming his USB is enough to store his data.  He suggested that Reg bring him his USB once a month to burn a CD of the data for backup, but even CD’s have a relatively short life of 15 years.  Lyndell said that Reg is planning to publish CD’s of his research as soon as he is ready.  He has a publisher.

5. HAHNDORF BRANCH FUTURE.   Anni asked the question, “What can the Branch offer people who might want to join?”  Eric suggested that regular monthly meetings at the Institute with a guest speaker might prove popular.  Anni said that our Branch members spend many hours per week working in voluntary capacities at the Academy, setting up and maintaining the website, plus painstaking research a la Reg Butler but needs a person to organise meetings and social events like John and Kath Storey and Clare Ferguson used to do.  Anni’s own role has always been to deal with the academic work, advocacy, documentation, answering questions from people looking for their ancestors as well as our court issues, leaving little time to devote to social needs of the Branch.  We have always shared tasks but have a huge lack in the social department.  Perhaps we should amalgamate with Mt Barker Branch and others in the region just as the Riverland Branches have done?  Lyndell said that our small numbers are currently tolerated by Head Office.

6. ST MICHAEL’S PROPOSED NEW HALL TO SEAT 500 PEOPLE  was discussed at length.  The congregation has approval in principle to go ahead with the plan to sell church assets to fund a huge facility which would cover much of the carpark and require removal of the remnant cemetery and its historic trees.  This would leave the congregation with no real estate to provide income from rental.  It was agreed that from an heritage point of view the removal of the remnant cemetery would be a retrograde step by the congregation, the oldest in Australia, which appears to have little sense of its long history on this site which could be termed a sacred site for Lutherans in Australia.  Anni agreed to contact Douglas Alexander, the new Heritage Adviser.

7. HAHNDORF ACADEMY GERMAN WAGGON.   Lyndell told us she had been going through the Academy records to find out what had happened to this waggon.  It did not appear in the records of the auction of Academy artefacts held during Ray Rothe’s time as President of the Hahndorf Academy Foundation Inc.  When questioned by Lyndell, Ray had no recollection of what had happened to the waggon.  Lyndell told us that she had discovered it was at Beerenberg, purchased before the auction by Grant Paech.

8. BRANCH AGM.   It was decided to hold the AGM in early February to allow us time to organise a speaker.  Lyndell agreed to find a speaker and to place the necessary newspaper advertisements.

9. WINDMILL FUND.   Since there had been no activity in our windmill fund for six years, it was decided to transfer fund to our operating account.  Moved by Lyndell,   Seconded by Anni.  Carried.

10. The meeting finished at 8.30pm